The trials and tribulations of Mark Ramprakash's career

Mark Ramprakash’s struggles in Test cricket

With the weight of runs behind him, Ramprakash finally made his Test debut against the pillaging West Indians at Headingley in 1991. Interestingly, Graeme Hick too made his debut in that Test.

Mark Ramprakash on his Test debut at Headingley

For Ramprakash, it was a strange series, in the sense that with hard-work and dogged determination, he invariably got starts, but was never able to capitalise on those promising starts. The consolation for Ramprakash came in the form of him being voted as the Cricketer Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year.

Mark Ramprakash soon became the victim of England’s haphazard selection policies that existed during the dark days of English cricket in the 1990s. It took only a few failures against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively in 1992 for England’s selectors to decide that he should be dropped from the team.

Mark Ramprakash made a comeback into the England team in the fourth Test of the series against Pakistan at Leeds in 1992, only to be dropped again after the final Test at Oval. In many ways, Ramprakash’s stop-start Test career encapsulated the very essence of English cricket’s deep-rooted problems in the 1990s.

England’s selectors ‘revolving-door policy’ didn’t deter Ramprakash one bit. By doing reasonably well in the county circuit, he worked his way back into the national set-up for the Oval Test against Australia in 1993.

The 1993 Ashes series was a disaster for English cricket, as going into the final Test at the Oval, Australia had already clinched the series 4-0. Most of the English batsmen were at sixes and sevens, while facing up to Shane Warne‘s magical box of tricks.

Mark Ramprakash in the final Test of the 1993 Ashes series, which England won by 161 runs, coming into the match 0-4 down in the series

In the second innings of the final Test at the Oval though, Ramprakash, brought a whiff of fresh air into their batting line-up with a masterful knock of 64. ‘Ramps’, as he is popularly known, came into bat at only the number seven slot in the batting-order.

But by showcasing a twinkling footwork against Warne, twinned with presenting a straight bat when needed against seamers, his timely half-century went a long way in helping England to eventually win the dead rubber by 161 runs.

For their next trip to the Caribbean in 1993-1994, England’s selectors plumped for youthful exuberance over experience. However, for the umpteenth time, West Indies proved to be too strong for the young guns from British Isles. Ramprakash himself had a horrid series, as he aggregated a paltry 73 runs in four Tests at a highly disappointing average of 10.43.

For almost two decades, West Indies’s deadly fast bowling machinery wreaked the fledgling careers of batsmen all over the cricketing world. By the end of England’s trip to Caribbean, it was crystal clear that Ramprakash too had developed a mental block of facing up to Ambrose and Walsh.

To make it even worse for Ramprakash, he was slotted into bat at the crucial number three position for the entire series. Here was a batsman who was still finding his feet in international cricket, but the English management thought that he could bat at the number three slot and make mountains of runs against Ambrose, Walsh and company.

On expected lines, after the series against West Indies, Ramprakash found himself in the lonely world of wilderness. In the peace and tranquillity of quintessentially, well-manicured, scenic English grounds, Ramprakash found back his form. He virtually put all the county attacks to sword and made 1270 runs at a staggering average of 52.91 in 1994.

In spite of being ultra-consistent in the 1994 first class season, he was selected only to play for England A against India A in India. In the first unofficial Test against India A at Bangalore, Ramprakash, with a touch of equanimity and calm countenance was at his brilliant best against Indian spinners.

With a crisp downward angling of the willow, Ramprakash defended the Indian spin troika of Rajesh Chauhan, Utpal Chatterjee and Sairaj Bahutule stoically. Every time the Indian spinners bowled short or too full, he used the depth of the crease to carve out some sumptuous shots. The tinkle-toed elegance with which he used his feet to Indian spinners was a sight to behold.

Actually, when Ramprakash essayed the masterful knock of 99 in the first innings at Bangalore, the writer rubbed his eyes in sheer disbelief several times that a player of his calibre couldn’t find a place in the England’s squad during their ill-fated tour to India in 1992-1993.